Kutter Crawford Commends Red Sox Teammates For Comeback Efforts

Kutter Crawford labored through 3 2/3 innings for the Boston Red Sox as the Tampa Bay Rays drove up his pitch count on Tuesday night.

For the second straight night, the Rays jumped out to an early lead during a stretch where the Boston right-hander tossed just under 60 pitches in the first two innings.

Despite a lack of early defensive help, Crawford walked four batters in the outing as Tampa Bay took advantage of extra opportunities. With his pitch count rising past his normal landmark of 85, Crawford’s night came to a close after 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts.

“I’m just frustrated with myself not being able to command the baseball,” Crawford said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage.

While the Red Sox trailed earlier, the lineup battled back to tie the game from both a 2-0 and 5-2 deficit. The defense sparked a pair of double plays with huge outfield assists from Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall.

Boston even took the lead in the 11th inning when a Luis Urías looper fell in and out of Brandon Lowe’s glove to score Rob Refsnyder.

“I thought it was incredible,” Crawford said. “We showed a lot of grit out there. For us to be able to fight back like that against a tough team. We found a way to make it a ballgame.”

The Red Sox came up just short when Lowe blasted a walk-off three-run homer to boost the Rays.

Boston looks to win the series tomorrow in the rubber match at 6:40 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.